RECOMMENDATION: That the
Planning Commission recommend approval of the additions to the Kinloch
Agricultural and Forestal District.

Petition:

NOTICE OF AN APPLICATION FOR
ADDITIONS TO THE KINLOCH AGRICULTURAL AND FORESTAL DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given pursuant to
Virginia Code § 15.2-4307, which is part of the Agricultural and Forestal
Districts Act (Chapter 43 of Title 15.2 of the Code of Virginia, 1950, as
amended (the “Act”)), that:

1.An application for an addition
to the Kinloch Agricultural and Forestal District (the “District”) has been
filed with the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and the application has
been referred to the Albemarle County Planning Commission pursuant to the Act;

2.The application for this
addition to the District, together with descriptive maps, is available for
public inspection in the offices of the Clerk of the Albemarle County Board of
Supervisors and the Albemarle County Community Development Department, Albemarle
County Office Building, 401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, Virginia;

3.Any political subdivision whose
territory encompasses or is part of the District may propose a modification.
Any proposed modification must be filed with the Albemarle County Planning
Commission in the Albemarle County Community Development Department within 30
days after the date that this notice is first published (no later than October
16, 2009);

4.Any owner of additional
qualifying land may join the application for the District within thirty days
after the date this notice is first published (no later than 5:00 p.m., October
16, 2009) or, with the consent of the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, at
any time before the public hearing the Board of Supervisors must hold on the
application;

5.Any owner who joined in the
application may withdraw his land, in whole or in part, by written notice filed
with the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors in either office identified in
paragraph 2 at any time before the Board of Supervisors acts pursuant to
Virginia Code § 15.2-4309;

6.Additional qualifying lands may
be added to an already created district upon separate application pursuant to
the Act at any time following the district’s creation;

7.The application for the District
and proposed modifications will be submitted to the Albemarle County
Agricultural and Forestal Advisory Committee on October 19, 2009;

8.Upon receipt of the report of
the Advisory Committee, a public hearing will be held by the Albemarle County
Planning Commission on the application for the District, and any proposed
modifications, on November 10, 2009.

Purpose

The County’s Comprehensive Plan identifies
Albemarle County’s Agricultural and Forestal Districts Program (the “AFD
Program”) as one of several voluntary programs available to landowners that
“encourage the protection of prime agricultural soils and working farms from
nonagricultural development.” The AFD Program is an important voluntary land
protection measure. By State Law and the County Code, the purposes of the AFD
Program are to:

·Conserve and protect agricultural
and forestal lands for the production of food and other agricultural and
forestal products;

·Conserve and protect agricultural
and forestal lands as valued natural and ecological resources which provide
essential open spaces for clear air sheds, watershed protection, wildlife
habitat, as well as for aesthetic purposes; and

·Provide a means by which
agricultural and forestal lands may be protected and enhanced as a viable
segment of the State and local economies, and as important economic and
environmental resources.

Effects of an Agricultural and Forestal District

The placement of land in an Agricultural and
Forestal District has the following effects:

1. Prohibition of development to more
intensive use. As a condition to creation of the district, no parcel within
the district may be developed to a use more intensive than that existing on the
date of creation of the district, other than uses resulting in more intensive
agricultural or forestal production, without the prior approval of the Board of
Supervisors. The meaning of “development to a more intensive use” is defined in
County Code § 3-202.

2. Applicability of Comprehensive Plan and
Zoning and Subdivision ordinances. The Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning
and Subdivision Ordinances apply within a district to the extent they do not
conflict with any conditions of creation or continuation of the district, or the
purposes of the AFD Program.

3. Limitation on restricting or regulating
certain agricultural and forestal farm activities. The County may not
unreasonably restrict or regulate by ordinance farm structures or agricultural
and forestal practices that are contrary to the purposes of the AFD Program
unless the restriction or regulation is directly related to public health and
safety. However, the County may regulate the processing or retail sales of
agricultural or forestal products or structures in accordance with the
Comprehensive Plan and County ordinances.

4. Consideration of district in taking
certain actions. The County must consider the existence of a district and
the purposes of the AFD Program in actions pertaining to the Comprehensive Plan,
its land use ordinances, and other land use-related decisions and procedures
affecting parcels of land adjacent to a district.

5. Availability of land use value
assessment. Land within a district devoted to agricultural or forestal
production qualifies for land use value assessment if the requirements for such
an assessment under State law are satisfied. Placing land within a district is
one of three ways in which land devoted to open space use may qualify for land
use value assessment if the requirements for such an assessment under State law
are satisfied.

6. Review of proposals by agencies of the
Commonwealth, political subdivisions and public service corporations to acquire
land in district. The Board of Supervisors must review any proposal by an
agency of the Commonwealth, political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or public
service corporation to acquire land in a district. The purpose of the Board’s
review is to determine: (i) the effect the action would have upon the
preservation and enhancement of agriculture and forestry and agricultural and
forestal resources within the district; and (ii) the necessity of the proposed
action to provide service to the public in the most economical and practicable
manner.

7. Parcel created by division remains in
district. A parcel created from the permitted division of land within a
district continues to be enrolled in the district.

8. Prohibition of certain service-related
assessments and tax levies. Land used primarily for agricultural or
forestal production may not be subjected to benefit assessments or special tax
levies by a special district for sewer, water or electricity or for nonfarm or
nonforest drainage on the basis of frontage, acreage or value. There are two
exceptions: (a) the assessment or levy was imposed prior to the formation of the
district; or (b) the assessment or levy is imposed on a lot not exceeding
one-half acre surrounding any dwelling or nonfarm structure located on the land.

In general, a district may have a stabilizing
effect on land use. The landowners in the district are making a statement that
they do not intend to develop their property in the near future, and that they
would like the area to remain in agricultural, forestal, and open space uses.
Adjacent property owners may be encouraged to continue agricultural, forestal or
open space uses if they do not anticipate development of adjacent lands.

Periodic Review of Agricultural and Forestal
Districts

A district may continue indefinitely, but it
must be reviewed by the County every 10 years to determine whether the district
should be continued. Before being considered by the Board of Supervisors, a
district is reviewed by the County’s Agricultural and Forestal District Advisory
Committee and the Planning Commission. Both the Advisory Committee and the
Planning Commission provide recommendations to the Board as to whether the
district should be terminated, modified or continued.

Once it has received the recommendations of the
Advisory Committee and the Planning Commission, the Board conducts a public
hearing. After the public hearing, the Board may terminate, modify or continue
the district. If the Board continues the district, it may impose conditions on
the district different from those imposed on the district when it was created or
last reviewed. Landowners within a district receive notice of this process,
including notice of any proposed different conditions.

When a district is reviewed, land within the
district may be withdrawn at the owner’s discretion by filing a written notice
with the Board at any time before the Board acts to continue, modify, or
terminate the district.

Unless the district is modified or terminated by
the Board, the district continues as originally constituted, with the same
conditions and time period before the next review as were established when the
district was created or last reviewed. If the Board terminates the district,
the land within the terminated district is subject to and liable for roll-back
taxes under Virginia Code § 58.1-3237 and the lands are no longer subject to the
benefits and obligations described in the “Effects” section above.

THE
KINLOCH AGRICULTURAL AND FORESTAL DISTRICT

The Albemarle County Code currently contains
this description of the District:

Sec. 3-220 Kinloch Agricultural and Forestal
District.

The district known as the "Kinloch Agricultural
and Forestal District" consists of the following described properties: Tax map
65, parcels 7, 7A, 8, 84A, 86, 89, 90, 91, 91A, 92, 93A, 93A1, 94, 94A, 95, 95A,
100, 121; tax map 66, parcels 2, 3C, 10G1, 32, 32D, 32E, 34 (Albemarle part
only), 34B. This district, created on September 3, 1986 for not more than 10
years and last reviewed on November 3, 2004, shall next be reviewed prior to
November 3, 2014.

The District is located northeast of Cismont
(Attachment A). The district is characterized by evergreen and deciduous forest,
open pasture, agricultural fields, hedgerows, as well as occasional residential
and agricultural buildings.

The District was created in 1986, and originally
included 1,326.76 acres. An additional 9 parcels and 246.93 acres were added to
the District between 1990 and 2004. The District now includes 29 parcels and
1,573.69 acres (Attachment B).

Agricultural and Forestal District Significance:
Of the 1,573.69 acres that comprise the Kinloch District, 87.21 acres are
enrolled in the Forestry category of the land-use taxation program, and 237.70
acres are enrolled in the Agriculture category.

Land Use other than Agriculture and Forestry:In addition to agricultural and
forestal uses, the Kinloch District includes approximately 37 dwellings.

Local Development Patterns:
The District primarily consists of large forested parcels and large farm
parcels. A majority of the parcels in the District are under conservation
easements (Attachment C).

Comprehensive Plan Designation and Zoning
Districts: The Kinloch District is
entirely designated as Rural Areas in the Comprehensive Plan, and the parcels
included in the District are zoned RA Rural Areas. The parcels adjacent to and
abutting the parcels in the District are all zoned RA Rural Areas as well
(Attachment C).

Environmental Benefits:
The District includes woodland and agricultural fields. Protecting and
preserving these properties in an Agricultural and Forestal District will help
protect forest and rich farm land, which the Comprehensive Plan and Rural Areas
Zoning Ordinances seek to preserve. Conservation of this area will help
maintain the environmental integrity of the County and aids in the protection of
ground and surface water, agricultural soils, and wildlife habitat. The Kinloch
District is in the North Fork Rivanna River-Flannigan Branch watershed. Two of
the three parcels proposed for the District are in the Preddy Creek watershed
(Attachment C).

Time Period:The Kinloch District is currently on
a 10-year review cycle. The District is scheduled to be reviewed on November 3,
2014.

Proposal:

Three applications have been submitted
requesting to add four parcels to the Kinloch Agricultural and Forestal
District, in accordance with Chapter 3, Sections 3-101, 3-201, 3-203 and 3-215
of the Albemarle County Code, which allows for additions of land to Agricultural
and Forestal Districts. The Kinloch Agricultural & Forestal District was
created on September 3, 1986, and was last reviewed on November 3, 2004. The
District currently includes 29 parcels and 1,573.69 acres. The proposed addition
of four parcels totaling 109.27 acres would increase the total number of acres
in the Kinloch District to 1,682.96.

The parcel, Tax Map 49, Parcels 5C and 6A1, are
located north of Turkey Sag Road. The parcels, Tax Map 50, Parcels 13 and 19,
are located at the junction of Turkey Sag Road and Gordonsville Road (Attachment
A).

The parcels are zoned Rural Areas with
agricultural, forestal, and fishery uses as the preferred land use and includes
a residential density of .5 unit per acre. The Comprehensive Plan identifies
these parcels as Rural Areas; focusing on the preservation and protection of
agricultural, forestal, open space, and natural, historic and scenic resources,
including a residential density of .5 units per acre.

Agricultural and Forestal Districts Advisory
Committee Recommendation: On November
30th, at 3pm, the Agricultural and Forestal District Advisory Committee will
review the proposed additions to the Kinloch Agricultural and Forestal District.

Staff Recommendation:

Staff recommends that the Planning Commission
recommend approval of the proposed additions to the Kinloch Agricultural and
Forestal District.